As a child, Taylor had to watch over the sheep, often snaring rabbits and hares illegally to sell for one shilling and sixpence each, a day's wages then.

He used to walk the fifty miles to Edinburgh, which took him fourteen hours, to spend his money on books rather than pay the coach fare.

It was there that he introduced commercial celery growing to the United States,[1] an achievement remembered on a plaque in Kalamazoo.

He gave several addresses to the Horticultural Society of Michigan on hedging and forestry, stressing the need for planting for the future.

He married: His children were Isabella, Andrew who drowned aged 19, James, Violet, George and John.